Better People
by rrj2
Summary: Set right after the series finale, the pack ties up some loose ends. (I didn't see anything else like this. I hope I'm not repeating anyone else's ideas.)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Out of the corner of his left eye, Liam Dunbar noticed Lydia Martin slowly approaching the lacrosse field, clearly in a trance. She was still a distance away, so Liam kept his eyes on the ball. With five of his teammates, Liam was part of an impromptu training session observed by Mason Hewitt. When Bobby Finstock heard about the practice, he was happy to attend and go into coach mode.

"Don't hold back!" Finstock yelled. "I know you have a stronger arm than that." Finstock suddenly stopped and everyone else noticed. They saw him staring towards the woods, where a wolf was steadily approaching.

Liam held his ground while his teammates slowly backed away. He looked back at Lydia and having a hunch, took off his helmet as the wolf drew closer.

"Who are you?" Liam asked the wolf.

"Dunbar!" Finstock yelled. "Is that a wolf wolf or a werewolf?"

"Don't come any closer until you tell us who you are," Liam said to the wolf, ignoring Finstock. He looked back at Lydia, who appeared to still be in a trance as she reached the lacrosse field.

The wolf appeared to hesitate, then continued her path towards the lacrosse players.

"I am the made beta of the true alpha," Liam yelled. "Identify yourself to me!"

The wolf slowly shifted into a young and naked human woman.

"Oh, I can't believe that worked," Liam quietly commented while mouths behind him dropped.

"I'm Erin Ramesh. You're the true alpha's beta? Is he still here?"

"Yeah," Liam answered while Mason ran up to the pair and offered Erin two jackets for cover.

A young man suddenly appeared from the woods and ran up to Erin and Liam.

"Lahey!" Finstock yelled. "What is going on here?"

"Sorry, coach," Isaac answered. "I don't think I have a good answer for that."

"Are you Isaac?" Liam asked. "I've heard about you."

"That's me. Sorry about Erin. It's been a while since she took human form. Hi, Lydia."

"Two forces of death are coming," said Lydia. "We must let one take its path."

"What?" Isaac asked.

"She does that," Mason explained.

Lydia seemed to snap out of her trance. "Isaac, what are you doing here?"

"I was hoping to get some help. What are you doing here? I thought you'd be at college."

"I was going to go to MIT, but I had to defer enrollment a year because of a crisis here. Scott, too."

"So he is here. Good. What were you saying about forces of death?" Isaac asked.

"I'm not sure . . . yet."

Scott, Lydia, Liam, Mason, Alec, Malia, Isaac, and Erin soon met at Scott's house for introductions and an explanation.

"I might be leading them here. They've been tracking me. I'm really sorry for taking that risk, but I didn't know what else to do," Isaac stated.

"You're a part of my pack," Scott replied. "You can always count on us, but I am worried about what will happen when they come."

"We can handle whatever is coming," Malia assured.

"Others might not be able to," Mason cautioned.

"What do these things look like?" Scott asked.

"They're really wide and maybe around seven feet tall. They look like they wear armor, but the armor looks and feels like huge yellow fingernails."

"That sounds gross," Liam commented.

"How fast are they?" Malia asked.

"They're not very fast," Isaac answered. "They're maybe like a normal non-athletic person, but they're strong and their claws are sharp. They're resilient."

"And they're coming here?" Alec asked.

Scott picked up on the subtle tone in Alec's voice. "We'll figure something out. I'll talk to Chris Argent in the morning, see if he knows anything. It sounds like we have some time. Do you have a place to stay, Isaac?"

"No, we didn't plan that far ahead."

"Alec is using your old bed, but I can find something for you two."

Isaac and Erin glanced at each other.

"Umm," Isaac began. "We'll just need one bed."

Scott later prepared a room and bed.

"So that's your pack?" Isaac asked.

"Yeah, until I finally start at UC Davis. I had to defer enrollment."

"I heard. What about Stiles?"

"He's with us sometimes, but he's at George Washington University and coming from DC is hard. He was in LA with us when we found Alec. He was there for an FBI thing. There's also Theo, kind of. We see him sometimes. I don't know if I'd call him part of my pack."

"So, Stiles' dad and Lydia's mom? That's strange," Isaac commented.

"It was for Stiles and Lydia, but they got used to it. Besides, that's not the weirdest new couple here," Scott replied. "Here, you should take this comforter."

"Well, don't just leave me hanging. That look on your face begs the question."

Scott smiled. "There's a reason why I talk to Chris Argent so much. And see him."

It took Isaac a few seconds to interpret the statement, and then his eyes widened.

"No way. He doesn't seem like your mom's type."

"You can ask my mom in the morning. You didn't keep in touch?"

"You know why I left Beacon Hills. It was just a matter of time before he and I drifted apart."

"Oh, I can ask Dr. Deaton about those things chasing you, too. I've been working for him full-time."

"And we're public now? In Beacon Hills?" Isaac asked.

"Yeah, you've missed a lot."

"I'm guessing I'll be glad I did once you tell me all about it."

The next morning, Lydia received an unexpected visitor at home.

"Jordan," Lydia acknowledged at the door.

"Good morning, Lydia. I hope I'm not bothering you."

"No, of course not," Lydia replied. "Come in."

"Have you had any banshee visions lately?" Jordan asked as he stepped inside.

"How did you know?"

"I didn't. I was just hoping you might help me understand something."

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. We've been getting an urge to go north. Something is pulling us there," Jordan explained.

"Was this a vision?"

"It's nothing like what you experience. This is like something is reaching out to the hellhound in me, telling me to go. I don't know. I can't explain it. That's why I came here. What did your vision tell you?"

"Forces of death are coming, two of them."

"To Beacon Hills?"

"I don't know. It might mean to me. I think I know what one of those forces is. If you're going north, maybe I should go with you."

Scott's pack, Jordan, and Erin convened at Deaton's clinic during Scott's lunch break.

"They don't sound like anything I've heard of before," Deaton explained after Isaac described what was pursuing him and Erin. "Argent didn't know?"

"He said it rang a bell, but he couldn't tell for sure. We should head north with Lydia and Jordan," Scott suggested. "Things are fine in Beacon Hills now. Let's keep it that way and lead those things someplace else. To be honest, maybe Jordan can help us out and we can help him."

"North, like where we just came from?" Erin asked.

"You'll be meeting these things sooner than expected," Deaton pointed out.

"Yeah," Scott responded simply.

"All right," Liam said. "Weekend road trip. At least, I hope it's just the weekend."

"You don't have to come," said Scott.

"I'm coming."

After the work day ended, the group assembled in two cars and drove north. Jordan and Lydia led the trip in the first car, with Isaac and Erin with them. Scott, Malia, Liam, and Alec rode in the second car. They were all unaware that another vehicle was following them, maintaining a consistent distance of approximately one mile.

After a few hours, Jordan turned into a motel. "I think this'll be a good place to stop for the night," he explained to everyone. "If those things catch up tonight, this is an isolated location. We'll minimize collateral damage."

"What about your thing?" Isaac asked.

"It can wait. I think we still have a while to go for that, past at least a couple population centers."

Later, outside their respective rooms that faced dense woods, Scott and Isaac continued to catch each other up.

"Have you thought about coming back to Beacon Hills before?" Scott asked Isaac.

"Yeah, a lot," Isaac answered. "I missed you guys a lot."

"But there's too much pain?"

"My relationship with Erin has been really good for me. When we heard rumors that the supernatural went public, she started talking about moving here."

"Yeah?" Scott responded. "What did you two decide?"

"We haven't gotten that far, yet."

Some rustling caught their attention.

"What do you think?" Scott asked as Isaac took in a deep whiff of air.

"It's them," Isaac answered.

"We knew this was coming," Scott said.

"You can still back out of this. Let this be my problem."

"Come on, Isaac. You know me better than that. Besides, they could be moving on to others after you."

Isaac kept watch while Scott knocked on various doors.

Soon, Scott, Jordan, Malia, Liam, Isaac, and Erin stood at the edge of the forest gearing up for a fight. Lydia and Alec stood at a window in a motel room, watching.

"Does this happen a lot?" Alec asked.

"Not anymore," Lydia replied. She noticed some apprehension from Alec. "In this pack, you're expected to stand up for what's right and help those who can't protect themselves, but you don't have to put yourself in danger yet if you're not ready."

"Is that why you're here with me?" asked Alec.

Lydia's eyes widened. "Well, no. Scott and Jordan want to keep this low-key. Banshee screams are not low-key."

Outside, the group heard the footsteps and rustling approaching.

"What have you been calling these things?" Liam asked Erin and Isaac.

"Uh . . . monsters?" Isaac hesitantly suggested.

Erin shrugged at Isaac.

"Monsters it is," Liam replied.

The pack soon engaged against nine opponents that started to glow with subtle orange auras. Scott, Jordan, and Malia attempted multiple fights at the same time.

"These remind me a lot of the berserkers," Liam commented. He accidently tripped and landed on his back. Seeing sharp claws swiping down towards him, Liam didn't know what to make of his adversary stopping suddenly. Claws dug deep behind the monster, tearing apart the back. Soon, the creature was on the ground, dead, and Peter and Derek Hale stood in its place.

"They are berserkers," Peter informed.

"They smell different," Derek added. "At least, they smell different from previous berserkers, but there's also something familiar."

"What are you two doing here?" Scott asked.

"Following you," Derek answered. "We heard about the berserkers and when you decided to head the direction they're coming from, we figured you could use the help."

"Much appreciated," Jordan commented.

Seven berserkers recovered and ran away when they saw that Peter killed one and Malia killed another with Liam's help.

"Let them go," Derek suggested. "We'll track them, I'm guessing to Kate."

"It's definitely her work again, with some modifications," said Peter.

"Peter and I will follow," Derek offered. "We're rested and you're not. We'll contact you when we get somewhere."

Most of the group slept in the next morning, until Scott received a call.

"Forty-one miles north," Derek said on the phone. "Get some breakfast and stay on the main road. We'll give you specific instructions when you get closer."

"Are you sure you found Kate?"

"Yeah," Derek answered. "The berserkers went into an abandoned warehouse. There's nothing around and they haven't come out. This is definitely their home."

"I'll wake everyone up."

Approximately three hours later, Scott and his group met up with Derek and Peter.

Jordan looked around.

"What is it?" Lydia asked.

"This is where I'm supposed to be," Jordan answered, "But I don't think it's because of Kate and the berserkers."

"It'll come to you," Lydia said.

"We should cover all the exits, and then barge in. Short and simple," Derek suggested.

"I did some recon," Peter said. "I saw fourteen berserkers total."

"That and Kate make fifteen," Isaac realized. "We're outnumbered."

"If Kate's here, I don't think the berserkers will just run off again if we hit back," Derek suggested.

"Let's be honest here," Peter suggested. "Some of us are heavy hitters and should act accordingly. I think we can do this."

"What does Kate want with so many berserkers?" Liam asked.

"Probably some standard plan for domination or extermination, whatever's currently floating her boat," Peter suggested.

"Isaac, we didn't get a chance to go over details last night," Derek said. "Do you have any insight? You two are the ones who encountered these things first."

"We don't know anything," Isaac answered. "They just showed up and attacked us. We tried to fight back, but ended up just running."

"That's what we heard from others, too," said Derek.

Gunfire suddenly drew everyone's attention, as a group of people stormed the warehouse.

"That's Monroe!" Scott realized.

"Who's Monroe?" asked Erin.

"They're hunters," Jordan explained.

"Of berserkers?" Erin asked.

"Of anything supernatural," Lydia answered.

"Lydia," said Liam. "You said there were two forces of death, and we should let one go. Which one is it?"

"I . . . I don't know," Lydia replied.

Members of the group looked at each other.

"What's going on?" Derek asked.

"I had a vision," answered Lydia. "I don't know what to make of it yet, but there are two forces of death coming. We should let one take its path."

"Should we just let those two groups kill each other?" Isaac asked.

Peter began his transformation. "As far as I'm concerned, the berserkers aren't forces of death. Don't flatter Kate that way. From what Isaac just told us and what we've heard, they might not have killed anyone yet, and I'm going after Kate. If there are any hunters in the way, I'll get them, too."

Derek shrugged. "Sounds like a plan," he said. He and Peter ran off towards the warehouse.

"Alec, it's your choice to join or not," Scott said. "If you're not ready to fight yet, keep a clear distance."

Alec nodded.

Everyone else ran into the warehouse and engaged in a three-way battle against Kate and the berserkers and Monroe and the hunters. The berserkers again had subtle orange auras as they fought.

Derek noticed a distinctive necklace tight on Kate's neck. It was clear to everyone that Kate's appearance had slightly changed.

Peter charged up to Kate and fought against her one-on-one. While most of Scott's pack also focused on one opponent each, Lydia directed her screams towards groups of hunters and berserkers and Jordan did the same with heat projections.

Monroe noticed Scott and made her way towards him until a berserker knocked her onto her back. A fellow hunter attacked the berserker, allowing Monroe to get up and inch back. Together the two killed the berserker and saw two more headed their way.

Meanwhile, Peter knocked Kate to the ground and grabbed her necklace.

"Put it on yourself!" Derek yelled.

Peter complied, but found the action to be pointless. Distracted, he was unprepared for another attack by Kate.

After heavy fighting, Monroe decided to retreat with four other surviving hunters. Kate recovered her necklace and feeling vulnerable, retreated. Eleven berserkers followed her. With minor injuries to themselves, Scott's pack surveyed the remains of the area.

Derek and Peter sniffed the dead berserkers.

"I still think I'm right about the necklace. That's how she was controlling them," Derek said.

"What is that smell?" Peter asked. "It's on the tip of my tongue."

"Kitsune," Derek realized. He tore apart a berserker's outfit. "I can't imagine how she did it, but these were enhanced with kitsune blood or genes or spirit or something."

"And I'm not a kitsune, so I couldn't operate the necklace," said Peter.

"Which would mean that somehow, Kate did something to herself too," Derek finished.

"So what now?" Liam asked.

"I want to end both threats," Scott said.

"I agree. We need to take advantage of Kate and Monroe being in the same area," said Derek. "But it'd be a lot easier if we had a kitsune that could use the necklace."

"But I don't know how to contact Kira or her parents," Scott said. "I think her parents are back in New York, but I don't know how to reach them and Kira's sword is still in pieces."

"Wait. I know what this is," Peter announced. "I've seen something like it before. I figured it out. We don't necessarily need a kitsune."

"Who else can use the necklace?" Derek asked.

"Someone who's been possessed by the Nogitsune."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Stiles arrived at an airport early the next day and was surprised by who was picking him up.

"Peter," Stiles acknowledged.

"You look and smell surprised. I thought Scott would have mentioned who's here."

"He did," Stiles responded. "I just didn't think you'd be the one to come get me."

"I talked my way into it. I told Scott and Lydia that the ride will give me time to go over the mechanics of the necklace so you can use it proficiently."

"Okay," Stiles answered. "So what's up with the necklace?"

"You'll have to put it on and wait for it to recognize you and adjust to you. It might take a while and it won't be a pleasant experience since the Nogitsune isn't there anymore, but it will happen. After that, control should be second nature to you."

"Okay."

"Got it?" Peter asked.

"Yeah. Is that it?"

"That's it."

"It didn't take the whole ride to cover that," Stiles pointed out.

"There's a condition needed for this to work for someone like you. Stiles, I realize that our acquaintanceship has been rather complicated since we first met and this won't be easy to admit to anyone, but you need to tell me the truth. Did you let the Nogitsune in voluntarily?"

Stiles started to stammer. "Not at first."

"I won't judge you," Peter assured.

"It was at Eichen House, and Malia was going to be hurt unless I let him in."

"You don't have to explain yourself. You let it in voluntarily?"

"Yeah," Stiles answered.

"Then you can do it. There might be some discomfort at first, but I know you can do it. I'll help you through it."

"Okay."

"So, how's school?"

"Fine," Stiles answered. "I really like the FBI, too."

"Good. Stiles, I have some business to attend to in Maryland soon, and I'd like your help, but I don't want anyone else to know about it. In deference to your academic responsibilities, I'll wait until next weekend. Can you do that?"

"Sure," Stiles replied.

"And you can keep it between us?"

"Definitely."

"You won't tell your best friend or your girlfriend?"

"Nope."

"I'll call you when I land," said Peter.

"What's the business?"

"I'll tell you next weekend. You can't share what you don't know."

"I'm already keeping this a secret."

"And you'll have less to tempt you to share if I wait until the weekend," said Peter. "By the way, the baseball bat in the backseat is something I picked up for you."

Peter and Stiles eventually reunited with the rest of the group. As Stiles got out of the car, he questioned to himself whom he should greet first. Lydia answered the unasked question by running to Stiles. The two shared a long kiss. Scott followed Lydia with a big hug.

"Isaac, good to see you again," said Stiles. He extended his right arm, which Isaac eagerly shook.

"So, who first?"

"Kate," Derek, Peter, and Scott replied, almost in unison. No one heard Liam suggest pursuing Monroe first.

"Well, that's settled," Jordan remarked. "How – "

"These berserkers have a distinct odor," Peter answered. "We can still smell them."

It took the group four hours, with intermittent stops to smell the area, to find Kate and the berserkers. They approached a clearing in a forest, but kept their distance.

"Fourteen berserkers again," Liam noted. "No problem," he added with a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Peter and I will take on Kate," said Derek. "Stiles will follow."

"The rest of us will just do our best to hold off the berserkers," Scott added. "If Stiles can get the necklace, we won't have to hold them off for long."

"I know you're there!" Kate yelled. "I can smell you!"

The group approached Kate and the berserkers.

"We didn't get a chance to catch up yesterday and you have two new pack members," said Kate. "I hope you missed me."

"What did you do to yourself?" Scott asked, as he noted that Kate's skin had taken a lighter hue of blue and a red shimmer surrounded her.

"I made myself stronger."

"You're disgusting," Peter hit back.

"You know, as much as I despised your sister-in-law, I admit I respected her guts to die with what she thought was dignity rather than to live with hypocrisy," said Derek.

Kate summoned her berserkers to attack.

Four of the berserkers suddenly burst into flames and everyone looked at Jordan, whose eyes blazed with fire.

Peter was the first to return to the mission, and he bypassed as many berserkers as he could while Derek helped Stiles catch up. Peter engaged in a one-on-one fight against Kate again. After a call for help, two berserkers ran towards Kate and Peter, but Lydia's banshee cry knocked both berserkers down temporarily. Peter landed two punches to Kate's head and swiped the necklace off her.

Derek tackled Kate to the ground and began his onslaught while Peter put the necklace on Stiles.

Stiles started to convulse. Peter wrapped his right arm around Stiles and pressed the teenager against his body, while holding Stiles' head against his left shoulder with his left hand.

Stiles started to breathe heavily.

"Go limp!" Peter yelled to Stiles. "Just let it pass through you. It'll be over soon."

Stiles' breathing slowed, as did the berserkers.

"You're getting it," Peter told Stiles. "Make them stop. You can make them stop."

Kate knocked Derek unconscious and leapt towards Stiles and Peter.

Two berserkers suddenly caught her, each holding on to an arm and restraining her. Seconds later, the other berserkers fell over.

"I think I can do more," Stiles said quietly while Peter maintained his hold on him.

The orange auras of the other berserkers started to fade and their armors fell apart while Derek regained consciousness. The two berserkers holding Kate maintained their armors and their positions.

"It's done," Stiles said. "The kitsune force is gone. Those berserkers are harmless without it and without the armor."

"You really are taking their side now?" Kate asked Peter.

"I helped you before because I could use you for my own purposes. That doesn't mean I ever forgave you for the fire. Derek, I got my revenge once. Do you want to have this one?"

Derek looked at Scott. "No, I'm good," Derek replied quietly.

"A second time for me, then," Peter said while extending his claws. He plunged his right hand into Kate's chest and after a few seconds, took out her heart.

"No coming back from that," Derek remarked.

Peter continued his spree and killed the remaining berserkers while Scott went over to Kate's corpse and stared at it. Everyone else watched Peter with a bit of unease.

Stiles used the necklace to disengage the two last berserkers from the kitsune auras they had, allowing Peter an easy opportunity to kill both.

"The necklace?" Peter asked when he was finished.

"Useless now. There's no more kitsune to control."

Scott patted Stiles' back. "What about other kitsunes?"

"I don't know," Stiles answered. "It felt like there was a connection between the necklace and these specific berserkers."

"Kate might've linked everything together somehow," Derek suggested.

Stiles took off the necklace and gave it to Scott, who stomped it to pieces.

"I'm not taking any chances," Scott explained.

"What are we going to do about Monroe?" asked Liam.

"We'll go back to the warehouse and pick up a scent there," Scott answered.

"Are you going to help with that?" Stiles asked Peter.

"Since you asked, sure," Peter responded. "I never forgave her for what she did to my cars."

Liam rode with Peter and Derek on the way to the warehouse.

"You seemed rather eager to go after Monroe," Derek commented to Liam.

"Her hunters really hurt me and a lot of people I care about," Liam answered. "I hate Kate, too. I had nightmares of Scott attacking me after the Mexico trip, but the Monroe memories are fresher."

Derek glanced at Peter.

"I should probably apologize for my part in that adventure," Peter quietly commented in reference to helping Kate in the past.

Derek continued to look at Peter expectantly.

"Baby steps, Derek," said Peter, eliciting an eye-roll from Derek.

The cars slowed down as the group drew closer to the warehouse.

"Well, that makes things easier," Jordan remarked regarding the cars at the warehouse.

"What are they doing here?" Lydia asked.

"Scavenging?" Scott suggested.

Everyone slowly approached the warehouse on foot.

"Alec, test yourself," Derek suggested. "How many are you picking up?"

Alec closed his eyes and focused on listening to heartbeats and conversations.

"Eleven in the warehouse and seven in the cars," Alec answered.

"Eight in the cars," Derek corrected. "That was good."

"Lydia, can your banshee scream take care of the cars together?" Scott asked

"Yeah," Lydia answered.

"Okay, do that. Stiles will stay out here with you and take care of anyone still conscious. The rest of us will go after the hunters in the warehouse. Alec?"

"These are the people who chased me and impaled me with an arrow. I'm fighting."

"Everyone, be extra careful," Scott suggested. "We can heal quickly from berserker claws, but hunters have wolfsbane."

Scott's group waited near the doors of the warehouse, waiting for a signal. Soon, a scream pierced the air and the group charged in. Outside, Lydia knocked all the cars onto their sides or backs and Stiles checked on the hunters there. Seeing a hunter trying to grab a gun that had dropped out a window, Stiles used his bat to break the hunter's hand. Another hunter stumbled out of his car and Lydia knocked him out with her fist and a couple well-placed kicks.

"That was quick and easy," Stiles remarked. He confirmed that everyone else was unconscious.

"Come on," Lydia replied. She grabbed one of Stiles' hands and led him into the warehouse.

In the warehouse, the battle continued, and Stiles' and Lydia's arrival quickened the defeat of the hunters who were being knocked unconscious. Monroe was the only one left conscious and in the last opportunity given to her, she lunged forward in Scott's direction and launched an arrow laced with wolfsbane. Stiles used his bat to knock the arrow down from its path, and Jordan kicked the crossbow out of Monroe's hands.

A bolt of lightning suddenly shone in the sky.

"You really have it in for him, don't you?" Jordan asked Monroe.

"He's been at the center of too many supernatural phenomena. He's a problem," Monroe spat out.

"How many normal people have you killed or ordered killed, Monroe?" Jordan asked. "Do you want to guess how many total people Scott has killed? Do you want to try to guess how many he's saved? And you think he's a problem?"

Another bolt of lightning made an appearance, accompanied by sharp thunder.

"You don't get to judge me! You were supposed to protect Beacon Hills!" Monroe screamed at Jordan.

"I know you were on the bus when the beast attacked. I was still learning about being a hellhound. If I could have defeated the beast and tended to all of you, I would have, believe me, but hellhounds aren't omnipotent. I couldn't do it all. No matter how much I wanted, I couldn't do everything and neither could that teenager over there."

More lightning lit up the sky.

"If there's one thing that I have learned in the Army and at the sheriff's department and as a hellhound, it's that I can't help everyone. At the end of the day, I can only do my best. You remember who was there to look after you on the bus. The sheriff, and you ended up pointing guns at his station and staging a coup. I think I get to judge you for that. Seriously, who does that and pretends to have the high ground?"

More lightning struck and suddenly, eight ghost riders appeared, surrounding Jordan and Monroe. Everyone instinctively stepped back, until Derek and Scott steeled themselves and extended their fangs and claws. The other group members followed.

"Wait, stop!" Jordan yelled. "This isn't a hunt."

The ghost riders spoke to Monroe in their own language.

"What are they saying?" Monroe asked. "What is this?"

"This is justice. They hold you responsible for the death of a hellhound host."

"He attacked me!" Monroe yelled.

"Did you attack him first?" asked Jordan. "I made that mistake. Halwyn was only trying to help Beacon Hills. All he wanted was to stop the Anuk-Ite. He could only do his best."

A ghost rider grabbed Monroe's neck with a whip.

"Maybe you could have done better than all of us, Monroe. You're so smart and resourceful and persuasive," said Jordan. "Maybe you could have been better."

A second ghost rider used a whip to grab a different part of Monroe's neck.

"But you weren't," Jordan finished. "You don't get to judge anyone supernatural, not after everything you've done."

The two ghost riders pulled and tore off Monroe's head. Two others turned to Jordan and spoke to him in their language.

"I've been practicing," Jordan told the riders. "The two of us have been communicating better and working together more closely."

"My place is here," said Jordan.

"That doesn't mean I don't belong."

"I'm being the hellhound I want to be," Jordan finished.

The ghost riders suddenly disappeared in a flash of lightning.

"Well, that happened," Stiles commented.

"We don't get called into service anymore, but it seems that the ghost riders still keep tabs on us," Jordan explained.

"It's over?" Alec asked.

"What about the other hunters?" Liam asked.

"I have a feeling they'll fall apart without her," Malia suggested.

Stiles went to Monroe's body and rummaged through her pockets.

"We can track her scent and find out where she came from," Scott suggested. "She's got to have a huge weapons cache."

"Yeah, that needs to be destroyed," Liam commented.

"I'll try to pick up a scent from one of these hunters," Derek said. "Another trail would be good."

"Or we can wake one of them up and interrogate him," Malia suggested.

"Got it," Stiles declared.

"Got what?" Scott asked.

"An address," Stiles answered. "I think this is where she set up shop."

"How'd you find that out?" Scott asked.

"Old-fashioned law enforcement work," replied Stiles.

The werewolves and Stiles looked at each other awkwardly.

"I'm sorry?" Stiles offered.

"Let's go," Jordan simply said.

On the way, Scott filled Erin in on Beacon Hills' history with Monroe and her hunters.

"Being excited about a supernatural sanctuary feels a little more awkward now," Erin commented.

"A lot more awkward," Isaac corrected.

"It doesn't have to be awkward," Scott commented. "If something decent came out of all those deaths, we can admit it."

"Okay," Isaac commented.

"But don't tell Liam I said that," Scott added.

The group arrived at Monroe's storage facility and quickly dispatched five hunters before surveying the weaponry.

"Can you imagine the hard-on that Chris Argent would have for all this?" Isaac stated.

"No, I'd rather not," Scott replied.

"What's the best way to get rid of everything?" asked Erin.

"Does anyone pick up any other heartbeats around the vicinity?" asked Jordan.

"Not for quite a distance," Peter answered.

"Everyone, take the hunters and get away from here, maybe half a mile," Jordan instructed. "I'll handle this."

Everyone else complied. They were waiting in the cars when the storage unit suddenly went up in a large wave of flames. Jordan soon emerged with his clothes intact and rejoined the group.

The ride back to Beacon Hills was mostly quiet as the group contemplated the final defeat of their two remaining enemies.

"What do you think, Isaac?" asked Erin. "I could see us being happy in Beacon Hills."

Isaac looked at Scott. "Yeah, sure, let's do that. It wouldn't be for too long, anyway. We both need to start thinking about college soon."

Scott didn't bother containing his glee.

Hours later, Scott, Isaac, and Erin returned to the McCall household and Chris Argent greeted them.

"It's done, isn't it? With Kate?" Chris asked.

"Yeah," Scott answered.

"I would've been there, but you never told me you were going after her."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Scott replied.

Chris walked up to Isaac and hugged him. "Don't worry about it. Welcome home, Isaac."

* * *

Thanks a lot for reading. Another one of my stories, Rebel on Fire, has the other half of the conversation between Jordan and the ghost rider. The story with Peter and Stiles in Maryland is up as Good Boy Alpha.


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